Glocon Update

Patterns are emerging and confirmed through Glocon in 9 countries so far (19 local documented community encounters) -including...(seen in each CSS in the 'themes that matter to us' section-see www.affirmfacilitators.org)

1. Local neighbourhood community matters-it is the DNA of Global Health. There are more neighbourhoods than any other type of community, and they will remain when all others fade away. They are vulnerable, yet when stimulated, can be the most potent foundation for care and change and expansion of health and faith outcomes.

2. Home and neighbourhood dynamic is the root of shared confidentiality, grounded in safe relational intimacy within local groups,which in turn is the fulcrum of expansion of local response. Relational health underpins all other expressions of health, and healing. 3. Local initiative for transfer (of optimism, vision, ways of thinking and working) is a core source of hope -and the essence of primary health (care) viability and sustainability

4.Systems, health service, church and other faith related organisational contexts need to learn from and adapt to the local neighbourhood community capacity for response to critical health concerns. Shift to learning from, and facilitating connection between local responses, are the core markers of organisational relevance.

5. Local relational health is indivisibly connected to faith, hope, grace encounter, and love in action. Global Health and faith are necessarily synergistic.

6. HIV and AIDS needs attention -it is not going away-we are seeing a second major era of medical denial, indicated by complacent acceptance that centralising ART in district and mission hospitals and clinics is enough to satisfy demand and fix the problem of care and prevention. People do not want a problem fixed by 'topping up' with ART -they want to live life to the full. They want to own their future.

7. Measuring progress and outcomes externally is complemented by, and necessarily informed through, community counselling, timelines, and transfer mapping, as well as other group approaches to self assessment. Sharing timelines and transfer maps between communities is a strong way for community to community 'twinning' to form across language, culture, faith, and politics.

8. Youth and inter-generational connection are core elements of any viable health and healing community response.

Anand Chaudhuriinteresting analysis and generically true. Conflict with this concept may arise whilst addressing the problem of individuals and groups who visit neighbourhoods but are not resident, yet are vulnerable to the virus eg; homeless, the street based, mobile populations....I could add but wait for others to contribute

Amazing!! It is like you are talking about our experiences!!So much is the resonance!! Thank you, Ian, for sharing this. We have all been seeing this again and again and again over the years. Your systematic documentation across 19 countries affirms our belief and adds strength to our journey.

Maybe even family to family twinning could help , in addition, where there is a lot of migration and people's "communities" keep shifting. Do share more about transfer mapping.. communities can see their support of each other even more vividly! Again thanks so much for deepening our convictions! I also feel a great joy that this way to heal is being recognised across the world.

I have been reflecting a lot on home visits after Glocon. I posted a blog on it and got several responses. Just finished with Participatory action research with sex worker communities, one of the findings corroborates with Glocon experience on home visits.

Abednego MutungwaIan i like the summary it under pins whats local response ,So far those of us who have been part of this journey agrees if families ,communities are stimulated and accampanied they own the whole the process of RESPONSES ,it becomes exciting to see how they find sustainable solutions to their concerns,let organisations,churches hospital etc, learn and listen from communities then let them formulate policies informed by local response .Amen